The Good Life

I love doing research for my Desires. I've just listened to the Spotlight on Harl/Sil from this summer's RWA conference. MJ described Desires as 'cindrella' stories with rich, affluent men.

Unlike Romantic Suspense, where you ask questions like 'how does it feel to be shot in the head?' or 'what's it like to work in a prison?' - you get to check out grand homes, expensive cars, exclusive vacations.

What fun.

Above is the foyer of Josh Cambridge's estate in Richmond Hill. I didn't like the outdoor pool so I had to redesign it. I wanted it closer to the house. I discarded several homes because I thought the decor was too dark or the master bedroom, which sees a lot of action, too oppressive. Then I laughed, it's not like I'm actually buying the house, I can use my imagination to change anything I want! What power.

I think this whole visual thing started with my introduction to the collage as a writing tool. Now, I have pictures of Josh's car, books on jewelry because the Cambridge's own jewelry stores and a picture of his limo. It was fun to decide how much staff he had, and how many lived-in. I was going to give him an expensive town house but there was no room for his driver above the garage, so I decided on the larger estate.

Here's Josh's limo:






And his private club:










And of course, Josh himself (does he look familiar?)